Senate Votes to Ban Senators and Staff From Using Prediction Markets

By Decrypt Agent

The U.S. Senate has banned senators from trading on prediction markets, with the chamber passing a resolution targeting potential insider trading advantages from non-public government information.

The Senate resolution prohibits senators and their staff from participating in prediction markets where users can bet on political outcomes, policy decisions, and other events that lawmakers may have advance knowledge of through their official duties.

"United States Senators have no business engaging in speculative activities like prediction markets while collecting a taxpayer-funded paycheck, period," said Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio)—who introduced the measure—in a statement. "Serving in Congress is an honor, not a side hustle."

The unanimous passage indicates bipartisan agreement that such trading poses ethical concerns similar to traditional stock trading restrictions for government officials. (Disclaimer: Decrypt’s parent company Dastan operates a prediction market platform, Myriad.)

Major prediction market platforms are backing the Senate's move. Kalshi founder Tarek Mansour called the action a "great step" in an X post, and urged lawmakers to expand the ban. "Now, let's pass this in the House!" Mansour said.

“We’re in full support of this,” Polymarket wrote on X. “Our Rulebook & Terms of Service already prohibit such conduct, but codifying this into law is a step forward for the industry. Happy to help move this forward however we can.”

Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor that it was "a good thing that the Senate is moving swiftly," per Politico, and urged the House and President Donald Trump's administration to enact similar rules. "Speaker Johnson should immediately do the same thing in the House," Schumer added.

The Senate's action follows a series of high-profile insider trading incidents involving prediction markets. In January, a pseudonymous Polymarket account wagered on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro being "out" by the end of the month, netting over $400,000 as a result.

Last week, Gannon Ken Van Dyke, a 38-year-old active-duty U.S. Army soldier, was arrested for allegedly using confidential information to place those prediction market bets. Van Dyke pleaded not guilty to the charges earlier this week.

State governments have also moved to address the issue, with California, New York, and Illinois issuing executive orders in recent weeks blocking state employees from using non-public information to place bets on prediction markets.

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